Cuspidor and dental console for use therewith

ABSTRACT

A cuspidor for use in a dental console in which the cuspidor is in the form of a bowl having an open top side in which the bowl has a bottom wall and an upwardly extending outwardly inclined annular side wall with a drain opening formed in the bottom wall to permit liquid to drain from the bowl and with an additional opening formed in the bowl which faces in a direction so that a liquid introduced through the additional opening will exit as a liquid stream striking the side wall in a generally tangential direction to cause the stream to swirl around the bowl before exiting through the drain opening.

United States Patent [191 Fox [ Feb. 12, 1974 CUSPIDOR AND DENTALCONSOLE FOR USE THEREWITH [75] Inventor: Shirl S. Fox, Menlo Park,Calif.

[73] Assignee: Dental Designs, Menlo Park and Palo Alto, Calif.

[22] Filed: Apr. 12, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 132,980

[52] US. Cl. 4/263, 4/262 [51] lint. Cl. A610 17/04 [58] Field of Search4/263, 264, 265, 266, l

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,636,633 l/l972 Fuller etal. 32/22 1,649,183 1l/1927 Pieper 4/263 3,521,307 7/1970 Slouka et al.4/264 655,051 7/1900 Browne 1 4/263 666,718 1/1901 Weber 4/263 3,281,86811/1966 McGouirkm. 4/263 3,359,575 12/1967 Nielsen 4/263 3,530,5139/1970 Maurer et al 1. 4/1

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 220,725 7/1909 Germany 4/265 OTHERPUBLICATIONS Crane Co. Catalog, Vol. 1915, Number 8 page 94 PrimaryExaminer-Peter Feldman Assistant Examiner-Donald B. Massenberg [57]ABSTRACT A cuspidor for use in a dental console in which the cuspidor isin the form of a bowl having an open top side in which the bowl has abottom wall and an upwardly extending outwardly inclined annular sidewall with a drain opening formed in the bottom wall to permit liquid todrain from the bowl and with an additional opening formed inthe bowlwhich faces in a direction so that a liquid introduced through theadditional opening will exit as a liquid stream striking the side wallin a generally tangential direction to cause the stream to swirl aroundthe bowl before exiting through the drain opening.

4/1927 France"; 4/263 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 5.2 F J/ IA 19/ 54% a2 2a n g e '1 I; 33 I/ a Z3 34 Q \w a a (5: h w T Patented Feb. 12, 1974F i g.

INVENTOR, Shirl 5. Fox

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Afiorneys CUSPIDOR AND DENTAL CONSOLE FOR USE THEREWITH BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION In copending application Ser. No. 889,471, filed Dec. 31,1969, there is disclosed a dental console which is provided with acounter having a large hole or opening therein and in which a separatelarge cuspidor is provided below the hole in the counter. In order tointroduce a liquid into the bowl, it is necessary to insert a small pipebetween the counter and the top of the bowl. It has been found that thisgives a rather unattractive appearance to the bowl and also makes itmore difficult to clean the bowl. There is, therefore, a need for a newand improved cuspidor which can be utilized in a dental console.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS The cuspidor for use in a dentalconsole comprises a bowl having an open top side. The bowl is formedwith a bottom wall and an upwardly and outwardly inclined annular sidewall. The bottom wall is formed with a drain opening to permit liquid inthe bowl to drain from the bowl. The bowl is provided with an additionalopening which faces in a direction so that liquid introduced through theopening will exit from the additional opening as a stream which strikesthe side wall in a generally tangential direction so that the water willswirl around the bowl before exiting through the drain opening in thebowl. The bowl is provided with an inwardly extending lip which isformed on the upper extremity of the side wall which serves to preventthe stream from passing out of the top opening of the bowl as it swirlsaround the bowl. The cuspidor is formed in such a manner so that it canbe incorporated as an integral part of a'counter of a dental console.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide acuspidor which can be utilized with a dental console.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cuspidor of the abovecharacter which has an integral inlet opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dental console having acounter in which the cuspidor is formed as a part of the counter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dental console of theabove character in which an extension of the counter serves to form anoverhanging lip for the cuspidor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cuspidor and a dentalconsole for use therewith which have a particularly attractiveappearance.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from thefollowing description in which the preferred embodiment is set forth indetail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of adental console and cuspidor incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The dental console shown in FIG.1 is generally of the type described in copending application Ser. No.889,471, filed Dec. 31, 1969 (now U.S. Pat. 3,636,633). As describedtherein, the dental console is in the form of a cabinet 11 whichconsists of a base 12 formed of a suitable material such as sheet metal.The base consists of a planar top wall 13 with a depending skirt 14.Four blocks 16 are secured to the bottom surface of the top wall 13 andhave mounted therein caster assemblies 17 of a conventional type. Thecabinet 11 also consists of a box-like enclosure 18 which is secured tothe base 12. The enclosure 18 is provided with a pair of spaced parallelupstanding end walls 21 and 22 and spaced parallel upstanding sidewalls, of which only side wall 23 is shown.

The cabinet also includes a framework 26 which is secured to theenclosure 18. The framework 38 is provided with a bottom Wall 27 andspaced parallel end walls 28 and 29 and spaced parallel side walls, ofwhich side wall 31 is shown.

A shelf 33 is mounted with the enclosure 18 and is supported by brackets34. The cabinet 11 is provided with a hinged or swinging door 36 whichhas a hinge 37 at its lower end that is secured to the base 12 so thatthe door 36 can be swung between. open and closed positions. The door isprovided with a handle 38 at its upper end which is adapted to begrasped by the hands so that the door can be readily moved between twopositions. Door retaining assemblies 39 are provided for limiting theoutward movement of the door 36. A small shelf 41 is carried by the door36 adjacent the upper end thereof and is adapted to carry a plurality ofdental instruments 42 as shown in'FIG. II. The dental instruments 42 areprovided with a plurality of fittings and tubes which are connected inthe manner shown and as described in copending application Ser. No.889,471, filed Dec. 31, 1969, and which are connected to an umbilicalcord 43 which is connected to the cabinet.

A counter 51 is mounted upon the framework 26. The counter 51 isprovided with a planar top surface. 52 and has a large, generallycircular opening 53 formed therein and centered generally with respectto the sides and ends of the rectangular counter 5l.-A cuspidor 54 isformed integral with the counter and is disposed below the opening 53 inthe counter. The cuspidor 54 is in the form of a bowl with an open topside which is formed with a bottom wall 56 and an integral upwardlyextending, outwardly inclined curved annular side wall 57. The bottomwall 56 is provided. with a centrally disposed drain opening or hole 58in which there is mounted a conventional fitting 59. The fitting 59 isconnected by a coupling 61 to a drain tube 62. The fitting 59 extendsthrough a hole 63 provided in the wall 27. The bottom surface 64 of thebottom wall 56 is planar as shown, whereas the top surface 66 of thebottom wall is curved also as shown. The top surface is pro vided with agenerally convex portion 66a which is curved in cross-section as shownin FIG. 3 so that it slopes downwardly to the drain opening 58 and alsoslopes downwardly toward the adjacent annular side wall 57. The topsurface 66 is provided with a planar portion 66b through which the hole58 is formed and which adjoins the portion 66a. The surface 66 isprovided with an annular upstanding triangular portion 66c which isprovided between the inner surface 67 of the annular side wall 57 andthe convex portion 66a so there are formed first and second annulartroughs or grooves 68 and 69 between the inner surface 67 of the sidewall 57 and the convex portion 66a of the surface 66.

The cuspidor 54 is formed with an additional hole or opening 71 whichfaces in a direction so that a liquid passing therefrom will strike theside wall surface 67 in a generally tangential direction so that thewater will swirl around the bowl. This swirling motion is facilitated bythe smooth annular surface 67 which is inclined slightly outwardly. Thewater will also have a tendency to travel in the troughs 68 and 69 untilthey are filled to a level so that they will spill over the curvedportion 66a of the surface and then pass downwardly into the drainfitting 59.

The cuspidor 54 is formed with a protuberance 72 through which theopening 71 extends. As can be seen particularly from FIGS. 2 and 3, theprotuberance is formed in the recess 68 so that the opening 71 is inaxial alignment with the recess 68. The protuberance 72 is provided withan outwardly curved and an upwardly and outwardly inclined surface 73which has a radius that is substantially less than that of the surface67 and has its lower extremity in general alignment with the recess 69.The protuberance 72 is also provided with an additional surface 74 whichis inclined inwardly and downwardly from the horizontal as can be seenparticularly in FIG. 3. The protuberance is also provided with a front,generally planar vertical surface 76 through which the opening 71extends. A fitting 77 formed of a suitable material such as metal isinserted into the hole or opening 71 as shown particularly in FIG. 2 andis connected to a tube 78. The tube 78 is connected to a suitable sourceof water as described in copending application Ser. No. 889,471, filedDec. 31, 1969 (now US. Pat. No. 3,636,633).

The counter 51 is provided with a portion 51a which extends over the topof the cuspidor 54 and forms an inwardly extending annular lip withrespect to the annular surface 67.

In order to provide an attractive appearance for the dental console, itis desirable that the counter 51 and the cuspidor 54 be formed of thesame type of material as, for example, a synthetic marble. Infabricating the counter 51 and the cuspidor 54 of such a material, thecounter 51 and the cuspidor 54 are formed of separate parts and then arecemented together with a plastic as shown in FIG. 3 to provide anintegral counter and cuspidor.

Operation and use of the dental console with the cuspidor may be brieflydescribed as follows. When the dentist wishes to utilize the dentalconsole, the water supply is turned on which causes a stream of water tobe forced under pressure through the opening 71 which produces a streamjetting therefrom that generally strikes the annular surface 67 of theside wall 57 in a tangential direction to cause it to rotate or swirlaround the bowl. It has been found that by increasing or decreasing theflow of water, it is possible to control the height to which the waterwill rise on the surface 67. The inwardly extending lip serves toprevent the water from travelling upwardly over the side wall and alsoserves to prevent the water from splashing out of the cuspidor. Thewater will, therefore, travel in a relatively thin film over the surface67 and in the troughs 68 and 69. As soon as the troughs 68 and 69 arefilled, the water will travel in a thin film over the surface 66 andpass downwardly through the drain 59. The protuberance 72 does notinterfere with the travel of the water because of the surfaces 73 and 74provided on the protuberance. The protuberance will cause the watertravelling in the trough 68 to be moved into the inner trough 69 afterwhich it will pass through the drain opening. From the foregoing, it canbe seen that the entire inner surface of the cuspidor is generallycovered with a thin film of water which ensures that the cuspidor willbe continuously cleansed by the thin film of water as it is beingutilized by the dental patient. In addition, the dental console gives avery pleasing appearance to the dentists office. There are no pipes orthe like extending into the cuspidor which could become dirty. All thesurfaces are continuously cleansed by the water entering into thecuspidor.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there has been provided acuspidor which has an integral water inlet opening which has manydesirable features. It is of a type which can be readily incorporated ina dental console to give a very pleasing appearance to the dentalconsole. It should be apparent that although the present invention hasbeen described in conjunction with a cuspidor for use in a dentalconsole, the same principles could be utilized for wash basins in abathroom in which the wash basins would be mounted on a counter. Thus,the self-cleaning action could be provided in a home which would beparticularly desirable when the teeth are being brushed and otheroperations are being carried out in the wash bowl.

I claim:

1. A receptacle for use with a counter having an opening therein, thereceptacle comprising a bowl having an open top side adapted to beplaced in alignment with the opening in the counter, a generallyhorizontal bottom wall and an upwardly extending, outwardly inclinedannular side wall, formed integrally with the bottom wall, said bottomwall being formed with a drain opening therein to permit liquid to drainfrom the bowl and having a top surface which has an annular convexportion sloping downwardly toward the drain opening in one direction andsloping downwardly toward the annular side wall in the oppositedirection to form an annular trough between the side wall and the convexannular surface in which liquid can travel, said bowl being formed withan integral protuberance adjacent said side wall also adjacent saidbottom wall said protuberance having a curved side surface upwardly andoutwardly inclined form the bottom Wall and facing inwardly toward thecenter of the bowl with a radius shorter than that of the annular sidewall, said protuberance, having a hole formed therein opening into thebowl, and facing in a direction so that liquid introduced through saidhole in said protuberance will exit as a stream striking the side wallin a generally tangential direction and pass into said annular trough sothat the liquid will swirl as a thin film around the interior of thebowl generally covering the exposed inner surface of the bowl.

2. A receptacle as in claim 1 wherein said top surface of the bottomwall is formed to provide an additional annular trough between the firstnamed annular trough and the convex top surface.

3. In the combination of a counter and a receptacle, the counter havinga generally planar top surface having an opening therein, a cuspidorsecured to said counter and having an open top side, said cuspidorhaving a bottom wall and an upwardly extending, outwardly inclinedannular side wall, said bottom wall forming a bowl having an annularconvex internal shape and a centrally located drain opening formedtherein, a protuberance extending from the bottom wall adjacent to theside wall having a curved surface upwardly and outwardly inclined fromthe bottom wall and facing inwardly toward the center of the bowl with aradius shorter than that of the annular side wall, said protuberancehaving an opening facing in a direction so that a liquid introduced intothe bowl through the opening in said protuberance will exit as a streamstriking the annular side wall in a generally tangential direction sothat the liquid will swirl around the bowl in a thin film covering theinner exposed surface of the bowl before exiting through the drainopening, said cuspidor being formed integral with said counter, saidcounter being provided with an annular portion which extends over thecuspidor to serve as a lip to prevent liquid from passing up out of thecuspidor.

4. In a dental console, a cabinet, a counter mounted on said cabinet andhaving a generally planar surface with an opening therein, said planarsurface extending a substantial distance in all directions from saidopening, said cabinet being free of all raised surfaces extending abovethe planar surface of the counter, a cuspidor mounted in the cabinet anddisposed below the opening in the counter, said cuspidor having an opentop side, said cuspidor being formed with a bottom wall and upwardlyextending, outwardly inclined annular side wall forming a bowl, saidbottom wall being formed with a drain opening therein to permit theliquid to drain from the cuspidor, an annular trough formed at thejuncture of said bottom and side walls, a protuberance extending fromsaid annular trough having a curved surface facing towards the center ofthe bowl witha radius shorter than that of said annular side wall, saidbowl having an additional opening formed through said protuberance andfacing in a direction so that liquid introduced into the bowl throughthe open- I ing will pass from the opening and strike the side wall in agenerally tangential direction so that the water will swirl around thebowl in a thin film and into the annular trough before exiting throughthe drain opening, drain means within the cabinet making connection withthe drain opening for collecting water passing through the drainopening, and means for supplying water under pressure to said additionalopening in said protuberance.

5. A dental console as in claim 4 wherein said counter and cuspidor areformed integrally with each other and wherein said counter is providedwith a portion extending over the top of the cuspidor which serves as alip for the cuspidor to prevent water from swirling upwardly out of thecuspidor, together with an additional annular trough formed! on saidbottom wall adjacent to and having a radius shorter than said firstnamed annular trough, wherein said curved surface projects upwardly andoutwardly on said cuspidor protuberance and forms a portion of the outeredge of said additional annular trough serving to direct the thin filmof water over substantially the entire internal surface of saidcuspidor.

6. A dental console as in claim 4 together with a plurality of dentalinstruments mounted in the dental con-

1. A receptacle for use with a counter having an opening therein, thereceptacle comprising a bowl having an open top side adapted to beplaced in alignment with the opening in the counter, a generallyhorizontal bottom wall and an upwardly extending, outwardly inclinedannular side wall, formed integrally with the bottom wall, said bottomwall being formed with a drain opening therein to permit liquid to drainfrom the bowl and having a top surface which has an annular convexportion sloping downwardly toward the drain opening in one direction andsloping downwardly toward the annular side wall in the oppositedirection to form an annular trough between the side wall and the convexannular surface in which liquid can travel, said bowl being formed withan integral protuberance adjacent said side wall also adjacent saidbottom wall said protuberance having a curved side surface upwardly andoutwardly inclined form the bottom wall and facing inwardly toward thecenter of the bowl with a radius shorter than that of the annular sidewall, said protuberance, having a hole formed therein opening into thebowl, and facing in a direction so that liquid introduced through saidhole in said protuberance will exit as a stream striking the side wallin a generally tangential direction and pass into said annular trough sothat the liquid will swirl as a thin film around the interior of thebowl generally covering the exposed inner surface of the bowl.
 2. Areceptacle as in claim 1 wherein said top surface of the bottom wall isformed to provide an additional annular trough between the first namedannular trough and the convex top surface.
 3. In the combination of acounter and a receptacle, the counter having a generally planar topsurface having an opening therein, a cuspidor secured to said counterand having an open top side, said cuspidor having a bottom wall and anupwardly extending, outwardly inclined annular side wall, said bottomwall forming a bowl having an annular convex internal shape and acentrally located drain opening formed therein, a protuberance extendingfrom the bottom wall adjacent to the side wall having a curved surfaceupwardly and outwardly inclined from the bottom wall and facing inwardlytoward the center of the bowl with a radius shorter than that of theannular side wall, said protuberance having an opening facing in adirection so that a liquid introduced into the bowl through the openingin said protuberance will exit as a stream striking the annular sidewall in a generally tangential direction so that the liquid will swirlaround the bowl in a thin film covering the inner exposed surface of thebowl before exiting through the drain opening, said cuspidor beingformed integral with said counter, said counter being provided with anannular portion which extends over the cuspidor to serve as a lip toprevent liquid from passing up out of the cuspidor.
 4. In a dentalconsole, a cabinet, a counter mounted on said cabinet and having Agenerally planar surface with an opening therein, said planar surfaceextending a substantial distance in all directions from said opening,said cabinet being free of all raised surfaces extending above theplanar surface of the counter, a cuspidor mounted in the cabinet anddisposed below the opening in the counter, said cuspidor having an opentop side, said cuspidor being formed with a bottom wall and upwardlyextending, outwardly inclined annular side wall forming a bowl, saidbottom wall being formed with a drain opening therein to permit theliquid to drain from the cuspidor, an annular trough formed at thejuncture of said bottom and side walls, a protuberance extending fromsaid annular trough having a curved surface facing towards the center ofthe bowl with a radius shorter than that of said annular side wall, saidbowl having an additional opening formed through said protuberance andfacing in a direction so that liquid introduced into the bowl throughthe opening will pass from the opening and strike the side wall in agenerally tangential direction so that the water will swirl around thebowl in a thin film and into the annular trough before exiting throughthe drain opening, drain means within the cabinet making connection withthe drain opening for collecting water passing through the drainopening, and means for supplying water under pressure to said additionalopening in said protuberance.
 5. A dental console as in claim 4 whereinsaid counter and cuspidor are formed integrally with each other andwherein said counter is provided with a portion extending over the topof the cuspidor which serves as a lip for the cuspidor to prevent waterfrom swirling upwardly out of the cuspidor, together with an additionalannular trough formed on said bottom wall adjacent to and having aradius shorter than said first named annular trough, wherein said curvedsurface projects upwardly and outwardly on said cuspidor protuberanceand forms a portion of the outer edge of said additional annular troughserving to direct the thin film of water over substantially the entireinternal surface of said cuspidor.
 6. A dental console as in claim 4together with a plurality of dental instruments mounted in the dentalconsole.